On Sunday November 26, the Diocese of Charlottetown Youth Ministry Office and the UPEI Chaplaincy Centre organized World Youth Day at Home.
Approximately twenty young people from across the diocese gathered at UPEI to celebrate their faith. The afternoon began with ice breakers, and a greeting from Bishop Joseph. Our keynote speaker, Ryan Mitchell of FacetoFace Ministries, led us in praise and worship music, and then offered a fantastic talk on this year’s theme: Rejoice in Hope (taken from Romans 12:12).
Our time at UPEI ended with a multi-lingual Rosary, which had the whole group pray a Decade of the Rosary, with each Hail Mary being led in a different language. It is incredible to witness the diversity of the young people in our Diocese. Our leaders prayed in Arabic, German, and French, among others.
Afterwards, participants put on their orange hats and made a pilgrimage walk to St. Dunstan’s Basilica for the 5:00pm. Bishop Joseph used the homily to connect the Feast of Christ the King to the World Youth Day theme.
After Mass, the young people were joined by family, clergy, and the Bishop for pizza in Glastonbury Hall.
World Youth Day is most commonly known as an international gathering, begun by St. John Paul II in 1985, and most recently celebrated in Lisbon, Portugal in August 2023. However, World Youth Day is also celebrated annually on the Solemnity of Christ the King in local Diocese around the world. The next international World Youth Day is being celebrated in Seoul, South Korea in 2027.
